Human remains found by a hiker in a remote area of southern Colorado belong to a woman who went missing in 2023 while hunting for rocks in Saguache County, officials said Friday.
Edna Quintana, 55, was reported missing on May 3, 2023, after she left home to go rock hunting on Saguache County Road 46AA, north of the town of Saguache near Saguache Peak.
Crews searching for Quintana in 2023 in Saguache County inadvertently led to the discovery of the remains of Suzanne Morphew, a 49-year-old Chaffee County woman who went missing in 2020 and whose husband, Barry Morphew, has been charged with murder in her death. Search crews also discovered the remains of James “Jay” Montoya, who police say was killed by Jesus Angel Arvizo after leaving a Lakewood bar in April 2023, while searching for Quintana. Arvizo is still at large.
Quintana’s remains were found by a hiker, who came across them on June 17 and called the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies secured the scene before returning with Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents and cadaver dog teams from Colorado Forensic Canines to search the area the next day. Officials recovered the remains and took them to the El Paso County Coroner’s Office, where they were positively identified as Quintana’s on Wednesday.
The cause and manner of her death are still under investigation, and autopsy and forensic testing results are still pending, according to the sheriff’s office. Agency officials declined to release more information about where her remains were found because of the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information about Quintana’s disappearance or death can contact the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office at 719-655-2525.
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